NZ’S ANTIPODES AUDIO SENDS NEW RANGE GLOBAL

about 10 months ago

Then out of the wild blue yonder, a key supplier went to the wall leaving significant models tottering on an audio limb.

Faced with adversity, Antipodes Audio responded in the manner us Kiwis are rightly famous for.

Without breaking stride, founder and designer, Mark Jenkins, looked at the models affected such as the DS, DS GT, Edge and Core models and decided in typically courageous Kiwi fashion, to completely redesign each.

Importantly, each of the revamped models would be designed and built in-house giving Antipodes Audio complete control of its desirable products from go to woah.

The flagship DX server was the first model to get a makeover. This led to models now comprising the new Antipodes X-Series modular Solutions.

The building blocks for the new series are the EX, CX, P1 and P2.

Launching the new models, Mark Jenkins told StereoNET:

Antipodes builds the DX completely in-house, but to get the DS, DS GT, EDGE and CORE to market at more affordable prices, we relied on a partner – and as partners do – they let us down. This resulted in the DS, DS GT, EDGE and CORE having to be withdrawn. Customers will have been disappointed, and even concerned about that.

He continued:

We decided to revisit those products but to do them to the same standard as the DX, meaning their quality is in an entirely different league. We are not exposed to any partners for these products so they are very stable offers.

Antipodes Audio explained that the EX is a much higher quality model than any of the discontinued models, but that it’s cheaper to buy an EX than buying a lower priced server plus a DAC to get a similar sound quality.

Antipodes' new CX is the same as the EX, but the CX does not have stereo analogue outputs.

But the CX carries a much gruntier computing engine to suit users who’d like to navigate a large Roon library of say, more than 5000 albums quickly and seamlessly.

The CX is also built to make using demanding DSP features such as on-the-fly transcoding and up-sampling to DSD512 a delight rather than a chore.

The CX is a unique model because it offers huge processing power in tandem with high-quality digital audio in a single device.

Buy a CX and EX Solution, and you’ll have a major boost in sound quality. The CX is assigned to running the server app such as Roon Server, and the EX is dedicated to running the renderer app as an 'endpoint'.

In use, the CX connects to a network and it also has a Direct Ethernet connection to the EX.

Extracting the best sound from your CD collection is as easy as adding a P1 platform to either a CX or EX.

Adding a P2 boosts sound quality and provides a way to expand the digital output options. A P2 can be added to an EX or CX. Antipodes wasn’t shooting the breeze when it said the new models provide a modular solution to great sound.

Antipodes will debut the CX+EX Solution at this year’s Munich High-End Show in May and StereoNET will be on hand for the launch. Later in the year, those wishing to catch the entire range at once will be urged to take the short flight across the ditch, as Antipodes Audio will also showcase its new offerings at the Melbourne International Hi-Fi Show, October 12-14, 2018 in the Lake 4 Room (NZ residents receive complimentary entry).

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Written by:

Addicted to music from a very early age, Gary built his first pair of loudspeakers at the tender age of 12. Since then he has contributed to a plethora of publications/websites and has even been heard on Newstalk 1ZB as the stations ‘gadget man’. Technically proficient in both analogue and digital, he feels the road ahead is just as exciting as the road already traveled - and he can't wait to tell you about it.